Depression clinical trials at UCSF 14 in progress, 5 open to new patients

We are conducting an eight week longitudinal study to learn if blood levels of certain naturally occurring compounds and genetic markers differ between patients with depression and healthy adults who are not depressed, and if any such differences relate to memory performance, mood, and neurobiology. We will do this by comparing the unmedicated depressed patients with matched healthy controls at baseline and then following the depressed patients over the course of eight weeks of standardized antidepressant treatment to gauge which baseline abnormalities normalize over the course of treatment.

Depression in family caregivers of relatives with Alzheimer's Disorder and related dementias is a serious public health problem. This is a randomized, controlled, single-blind pilot clinical trial of 50 depressed caregivers, to determine the efficacy and mechanisms of group therapy for depressed dementia caregivers.

The specific focus of this study is to gather data regarding the effects of a psychological therapy known as Problem Solving Therapy (PST) on cerebral blood flow (CBF), cortical gray matter (GM) atrophy, subcortical white matter (WM) lesion burden, and measures of cognitive function in subjects with Late Life Major Depressive Disorder (LLD). This research goal will be achieved by recruiting 110 individuals over the age of 65 with LLD. The primary outcomes will be change in CBF, change in GM atrophy, change in WM lesion, change in cognitive function, and change in depression severity from baseline to the end of 12 weeks of PST.

The exponential growth of physiological, behavioral and environmental data generated through consumer mobile health (mHealth) devices and Internet of Things (IoT) technology provide unprecedented sources of personalized and contextual health information. If linked to clinical health data from the Electronic Health Record (EHR), these data can provide dynamic and individualized views of patient health states and trajectories that can greatly inform clinical care and health-related research. The investigators propose to advance precision health through the development and evaluation of a mobile application and data platform that collects, harmonizes and integrates mHealth and environmental data from patients' daily lives with their clinical histories and electronic health record data. The investigators propose a participatory design approach to implement and evaluate a precision health platform through the study and modeling of hypertension (HTN) and depression in patient communities of UC Davis (UCD) and UC San Francisco (UCSF). These chronic diseases have high prevalence across geography, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity, and have significant economic, societal and personal costs. They are considerably challenging to manage due to difficulties in acquiring high-quality and consistent data from patients outside of their clinical care appointments that is so needed for a full view of the patient's disease state. Despite a broad array of self-monitoring devices and consumer applications, mHealth data are not getting into the clinical care process, and patients do not regularly monitor their own health states, particularly during periods of medication change, when frequent assessments are especially important. The investigators propose to conduct a 6-month single arm feasibility study of 200 ambulatory men and women (100 each at UCSF and UCD) with either hypertension or depression to implement an open, web-accessible, standards driven and patient-centric data platform for the integration of patient-reported and clinical data.

Anxiety and depression is common along pregnant mothers and has been found to increase risk for negative outcomes in both mothers and infants. These risks can include low infant birth weight, negative mother-infant interactions, and delayed developmental outcomes. Evidenced-based interventions to support pregnant women experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety are not well studied or widely available, particularly for low-income women of color. These women may not have access to the type of healthcare that would best support their needs and/or they may not be familiar with or trust clinicians who deliver mental health interventions. The current randomized-controlled trial (RCT) aims to address these gaps in the literature by testing the feasibility and efficacy of a doula-supported, computer-assisted delivery of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention designed to reduce pregnancy-related anxiety, depression, and prevent perinatal mood disorders. The 120 participants in the study (60 Black women and 60 Hispanic/Latina women) will be randomized to either receive the Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) intervention (n=60) or treatment as usual (n=60). Participants assigned to the intervention will complete 6-8 sessions of CALM with a language and ethnically/racially-matched doula who has been trained as a CALM specialist in order to increase participant comfort and reduce the stigma associated with mental health services. Women in both groups will complete assessments of their pregnancy-related anxiety, general anxiety, depressive symptoms, and satisfaction with treatment (CALM or treatment as usual) at baseline, 12-weeks post-baseline, and 10-weeks post-birth. It is hypothesized that women assigned to the CALM intervention will have significantly less anxiety and depressive symptoms post-treatment and post-partum compared to the women assigned to treatment as usual. The results of the current RCT will be used to test the efficacy of the CALM intervention for pregnant women or color and to inform efforts for potential future scalability.

This study will be conducted to determine the pharmacodynamics, cardiovascular and biochemical effects of succinylcholine when given during electroconvulsive therapy. (ECT). This is a single center, prospective, study in patients who will be receiving ECT as indicated and prescribed by their psychiatrist. The study will be performed twice on each patient, 48-72 hours apart during consecutively scheduled ECT procedures.

The goal of this project is to conduct a pilot study to test the utility of a Natural Language Processing (NLP) clinical messaging tool to improve the reach and the quality (fidelity and competency) of coaches providing behavioral activation (BA) strategies through a mobile mental health app called Personalized Real-time Intervention for Motivational Enhancement (PRIME). This study will improve the reach of clinicians by using a NLP-powered messaging tool, which will ensure fidelity to the BA model and clinicians will have access to real-time clinical information about their patients to guide more targeted treatment (competence). If successful, PRIME could operate as a cost effective tool for clinicians to extend their reach and an accessible treatment for the population of those struggling with depression.

The purpose of this research study is to characterize the mechanisms contributing to cognitive impairment and accelerated cognitive decline in Late Life Depression (LLD). This is a non-randomized, observational, non-treatment study. One hundred and twenty (120) subjects who meet criteria for Major Depression or LLD will be enrolled for a period of 30 months. Data from an additional 300 non-depressed subjects will be used from ADNI studies for comparison. Depression history, symptom severity and health information will be collected at the initial psychiatric visit to determine eligibility. A 3 Tesla (3T) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and florbetapir (18F-AV-45) amyloid imaging will be conducted at the ADNI clinic site visits. Collection of plasma and serum for biomarkers, clinical assessments and cognitive assessments will be conducted at two time points. Blood samples will also be collected for genetic analysis.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) and depression in HIV-infected patients result in poor HIV outcomes, yet are often unrecognized and untreated. To address these problems, this study examines the implementation and effectiveness of a clinical intervention consisting of self-administered tablet-based SUD and depression screening at routine HIV primary care clinic visits, followed by evidence-based treatments for SUD and depression delivered by a behavioral health specialist. If successful, this study has potential to reduce SUD- and depression-related problems and reduce HIV treatment disparities for patients with these comorbidities.

Major depressive disorder affects over 120 million people worldwide. Only 50% of Americans with depression receive adequate treatment, and one-third of those receiving treatment do not benefit. In this pilot project investigators will bring together two approaches that have the promise to reach large numbers of depression sufferers: a skills-based intervention for increasing positive affect and experiences in depressed individuals, delivered in an inexpensive self-paced mobile format. The study will make use of smartphone technology to improve conventional outcome measurement via in-the-moment emotion sampling and mobile assessment of heart rate variability, a predictor of cardiac health that may mediate some of the health effects of depression. The aims are: 1) Retool the existing web-based positive emotion intervention for use on smartphones, with innovative exercises that help participants bring the skills they are learning into real- life situations; 2) Measure heart rate variability and emotions using existing smartphone software; and 3) Perform a randomized pilot trial of the mobile intervention on individuals with clinical depression recruited online.

This is an open-label, 104-week, multicenter, extension study designed to evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability and effectiveness of flexibly dosed lurasidone (20, 40, 60 or 80 mg/day) in pediatric subjects who have completed the 6-week treatment period in the preceding studies, D1050301, D1050325, and D1050326

The focus of this application is on the impact of providing depressed Veterans and their providers with the results of pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing for psychotropic medications. The project focuses on whether and how patients and providers use genetic test results given to them at the time an antidepressant is to be initiated to treat Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and whether use of the test results improves patient outcomes. MDD is one of the most common conditions associated with military service and combat exposure, increases suicide risk, and worsens the course of common medical conditions, making it a leading cause of functional impairment and mortality. Validation of a PGx test to personalize the treatment of MDD represents an important opportunity to improve the healthcare of Veterans.

The overall purpose is to determine research based 'next-steps' for outpatients with major depressive disorder who have not had satisfactory outcomes to standard 'first-step' treatments. The primary objective is to compare the acute (up to 12 weeks) treatment effectiveness of augmenting an antidepressant with aripiprazole or with bupropion-SR vs. switching treatment to bupropion-SR monotherapy on symptom remission in Veterans with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) who have not achieved optimal response after an adequate trial on antidepressant (SSRI or SNRI or mirtazapine) monotherapy. The secondary objectives are to compare the acute (up to 12 weeks) and long term (up to 36 weeks) efficacy, safety, effects on functioning, suicidality, quality of life, anxiety and other associated symptoms, costs and cost-effectiveness of each of the three treatments.